One and Only
by un1uckyst4r
Summary: The continuation of Behind the Veil.
1. Prologue

The young woman walked out of the school late at night, waving goodbye to a few of her friends as she left. A cold breeze was in the air, blowing dead leaves around and swirling about ominously as she took a left turn halfway through the schoolyard and headed towards the forest between her high school and the elementary school a block away. The moon was hidden behind dark storm clouds, and as the wind blew harder the girl picked up her pace. Her mother had warned her about walking through the forest late at night, you couldn't know who - or what - was lurking about in the trees. But it was late, there was a storm brewing, and if she didn't get home soon she would be soaked. 

She came upon a clearing in the forest and couldn't help but stop. She looked around her, at the dark trees, at the cave that was a few paces away. She'd heard stories about what had happened at this place a few months earlier, that a battle between a powerful sorceress and some kind of demon began at this very spot with the prize being the fate of the sorceress' many friends. The sorceress had won, and contained the demon in a tarot card. The girl kneeled down on the ground and brushed the dew-spotted grass, hoping that some of that power may rub off on her. 

A silvery flash caught the girl's eye, and she turned around to see what had caused it. She found a card face-up on the ground, something like a tarot card, with a woman on it. She read the inscription at the bottom, then turned the card around. The back was covered with evil images but it seemed so irresistibly beautiful. There was a silvery upside-down crescent moon on it, and a silver pentagram in the center, all on a black background. The girl ran her hand down the back of the card, her fingers stopping in the very center of the upside-down star. 

The wind picked up harshly, and the girl's eyes went wide in shock as the card glowed red and became searing-hot to the touch. She wanted to let go of the card but something forced her to keep her hands glued to it. Suddenly a pillar of fire shot up from the clearing, a giant column of flame right in the middle of the forest. Almost as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished after seconds. It left no trace of its existence behind, not even a trail of smoke. 

Then it began to rain.


	2. Change

"Sakura!!!" Touya stood at the base of the stairs, tapping his foot impatiently. "You've got five minutes to get down here or I'm not waiting for you anymore!!" 

"Wait, I'm coming, I'm coming!!!" Sakura bolted down the stairs, practically jumping over Touya on her way down. She ran over to the kitchen table and grabbed a slice of bread, shoving it into her mouth as she ran back to the stairs to put on her rollerblades. 

"Do you have your lunch, Sakura?" Fujitaka asked, not looking up from his newspaper. 

"Yeff, Oto-ffan." Sakura gulped down the remainder of her toast and skated over to her father. "Sorry. Yes, Oto-san, I have my lunch." 

"Good. Have a good day at school, you two!" 

"Bye, Oto-san," Touya said as he strolled out the door and straddled his bike. 

"Have a good day," Sakura added, blowing her dad a kiss as she skated out the door. She shut the door behind her and skated alongside Touya. "Hey, where's Yukito-san?" 

"He's really sick," Touya answered. "Why so interested, huh?" 

Sakura blushed furiously. She knew that Yukito was sick because he hadn't fully recovered from his whole ordeal with the Possession Card, from being put under a powerful magical spell, and having all his magic drained out of him as Yue. "I'm... just... concerned about his well-being, that's all." 

"Right. Anyway, I'm gonna go see him after school today and I know you'll wanna come along, so try not to be late coming out of school today." They came to the fork in the road where Sakura's school was, and Touya waved behind him as he rode away down one fork of the road. Sakura skated down the other path just in time to catch up with Tomoyo, who greeted her with a warm smile. 

"You're on time for once," Tomoyo joked. 

Sakura reddened slightly, remembering the time she was late for school because her brother and Yukito wouldn't slow down for her. That was when Kari was still around, still under the spell of the Possession Card. Sakura hadn't talked to Kari ever since she left for Kyoto two months earlier. She wasn't mad or anything, she was just going to wait until Kari was able to forgive herself for what she'd done. "Not funny. Hey, did you hear about what happened last night?" 

"Yeah, I heard there was a fire in the forest really late, around the same time that the thunderstorm started. It's so strange though. When the firefighters came there wasn't any trace of a fire, no smoke, nothing burned or anything. They think it was some kind of prank call, but how could it have been a prank call if so many people saw it?" 

"Maybe the rain washed everything away and put the fire out," Sakura suggested. 

"Maybe." Tomoyo opened the classroom door and slung her bag over the chair. "You know what, though? Part of the school burned down." 

"Hoee?!" Sakura's eyes were wide in shock. "Are you serious?" 

"Totally. The library burned down last night. It might have been because of the fire in the forest, but the police think it's a completely different incident." Tomoyo giggled. "Wow, this is so great, we've got a real detective story on our hands, a real mystery right here in Tomoeda." 

"You've got a real sense of compassion there, Daidouji Tomoyo." 

Tomoyo shrieked and turned around to see Syaoran glowering behind her. "Hey, don't do that! You scared me." 

"Yeah. Anyway, this is a lot more serious than you think it is. It's not just the library that was destroyed, it was that entire part of the school." 

"Hoee!! Syaoran, you'd better not be kidding." 

"I'm incapable of kidding. They're relocating us today, they have to fix up that area of the school. All the little kids from grade four and below are going to the daycare on Endo Street. The grade fives, sixes, and sevens are going to Taiho Elementary - that's down the street from the daycare - and we're going to Seijo High." 

Sakura groaned. "Oh geez, this means I'll have to spend the rest of the school year walking down the same halls as my brother." 

"Trust me, Sakura, I'm not looking forward to that either." 

After three days going to Seijo High, Sakura still couldn't find her way around. She was late for class every single time because she couldn't remember where her classroom was. And with a school that had four floors and numerous stretches of winding hallways, it wasn't that hard. She was on her way to her science class when someone yelled at her from down the hall. 

"Sakura!!" 

Sakura turned around and began to blush. Yukito was walking towards her with a friendly smile on his face, a smile that made Sakura want to melt. "Hey, I heard what happened at your school." 

"Yeah." _Giggling should be outlawed_, Sakura thought angrily as she listened to Tomoyo and Mihara Chiharu laughing a few feet away. "Glad to see you're feeling better." 

"Thanks, Sakura. Anyway, if that Syaoran Li kid decides to pick on you anymore, To-ya and I are gonna be just a few steps away. Think of it, Sakura; your own personal bodyguards, just like Tomoyo-san." 

Yukito grinned, and Sakura couldn't help but grin back. "Thanks a lot, Yukito." 

"No problem. Hey, I packed a little extra for lunch today, so you and your friends can have lunch on me today. How's that?" 

Tomoyo and Chiharu were seized in fits of laughter. "Sure, that would be great," Sakura answered. "They won't mind." 

"Great." Yukito gave Sakura a hug. "See you at lunch!!" 

Sakura waved at Yukito and then glared at Tomoyo and Chiharu. "You guys are so embarrassing," she said. 

"At least you're happy," Chiharu said, still laughing. "You get to spend six hours a day in the same building with your loverboy. What more could a girl want?" 

Sakura fumed, then stopped abruptly as she noticed Touya at his locker talking comfortingly with a girl she'd never met before. Sakura was accustomed to knowing all of Touya's girlfriends. "Guys, check it out. Who's that girl my brother's talking to?" 

Tomoyo squinted in Touya's direction. "I don't know. I think I've seen her a couple of times, like at the library, but she looked a lot different then." 

Chiharu looked over at Touya. "I think she lives on my street. Yeah, she lives across the street from me. Her name's Harada Maeko, she's a friend of my sister's." 

Sakura took a closer look at the girl. She was tall, almost as tall as Touya, with long, wavy, somewhat disheveled, ebony-black hair and piercing dark eyes behind wire-framed glasses. She looked poised and intelligent, a future executive in a big company. "It's weird though," Chiharu continued. "Maeko-san's hair was perfectly straight before. And she's so shy, she'd never have the courage to just go up to a guy and talk to them, she said so herself. I didn't even know she liked Touya-san." 

"A guy like Touya is probably swimming in girls," Tomoyo commented. "And maybe Maeko-san decided she might as well change if she would ever get a chance at him." 

"Yeah, but overnight?" Chiharu looked totally puzzled. "It's still weird." 

"Oh well, it's summer. A time of change. We get a new school, Maeko-san gets a new look for Touya. Everything changes." 

"I'm in love," Touya announced upon walking into the house. 

Sakura sputtered into her miso. "Hoee?! You're what?!" 

"In love," Touya answered, leaning in close to give Sakura a hug. "And it feels incredible." 

"Who's the unlucky victim?" Sakura muttered. 

"What was that?" 

"Um... who's the lucky girl?" 

"Harada Maeko." Touya twirled around the dining room as if he were dancing on air. "The most beautiful girl in Tomoeda. No, wait, in all Japan. Wait... the most beautiful girl in the world. Sakura, what do you want for your birthday?" 

"My birthday was two months ago." _My goodness, he's finally flipped! _Sakura thought. 

"Trifles, trifles. A stuffed toy, you say? Consider it done." With that, Touya practically skipped back out the front door. Sakura stared after him with a very confused look on her face. 

"What's eating him?" Kero asked, floating down the stairs. 

"Nothing. He's in love. Only he's never been this way before, not even when he was going out with Mizuko-sensei four years ago. This is definitely weird." 

"Tell me about it. Love makes humans act really funny. Who's that girl he was talking about? Harada Maeko? Pretty name." 

"Yeah. She's a friend of Chiharu-san's sister, used to be super-shy but changed overnight into a total guy-magnet." 

"Really? Do humans do that normally?" 

Sakura shook her head and laughed at Kero. "Yeah, when they really, really want to." 

Sakura was busy doing her homework on the computer when the phone rang. "Hello, Kinomoto residence?" 

"Hello, could I please speak to To-ya?" 

To-ya? Sakura thought, thoroughly puzzled. Only Yukito called Touya that, and that was definitely not Yukito on the phone. That was a girl. "I'm sorry, he can't come to the phone right now. Could I take a message?" 

"Oh, but could I please speak to him? It's really very important." 

"I'm sorry, but he's in the shower -" 

"Listen to me, you little brat." The girl's tone changed all of a sudden, from soft and sweet to harsh and bitter. "You're going to let me talk to my To-ya now. I don't care what kind of flimsy excuse you have. Give him the phone right now and let me talk to him!" 

"Sakura, what' going on?" Touya walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a fluffy white towel. 

"Some girl wants to talk to you." Sakura handed him the phone angrily. 

"Girl?" Touya asked puzzledly. "Hello? Oh, Maeko!" Touya trailed out of the room, significantly happier than he had been earlier. "Hey, you actually called me. I didn't think you would - I mean, I'm surprised. Pleasantly surprised..." 

Sakura was surprised. That was Maeko? "Is Oniichan totally blind or something?" she said to herself. A few minutes later Touya came back in, fully dressed and hauling his windbreaker over his shoulders. "Tell Oto-san I'll be back later," he said to Sakura. 

"Where are you going?" 

"Out." Touya put the phone back and gave Sakura a quick hug. "Don't ask questions. I'll be back soon." 

"Is it Maeko?" Sakura asked as Touya made his way up the stairs. 

Touya stopped, looked up, and Sakura noted the flush on his cheeks. "She really wants to see me," he said, as if that was a good enough explanation. He waved at Sakura and went out the door, leaving Sakura completely confused. He never went out this late at night, and he never snuck out of the house for anything, not even for a girl. Not even for Kaho-sensei, and Touya was about as in love with Kaho-sensei as anyone could ever be. _Maybe it's a Clow Card_, Sakura could already hear Tomoyo saying. She shrugged, highly doubting it. Clow Cards didn't make people act this way... at least normally they didn't.


	3. Love Me or Leave Me

"I can't believe Oto-san grounded me like that," Touya said angrily. It was Saturday morning and Touya was locked up in his room, forbidden to go out the entire day. "Now I'm going to miss soccer practice." 

"That's what you get for sneaking out at night to see some girl," Sakura chided, relishing the fact that for once, she had more freedom than her older brother. 

"I wasn't sneaking out. And besides, I really had to see her." Touya paced about his room. "You swear you didn't rat me out?" 

"I didn't say anything." 

"Then how did Oto-san find out?" 

"Gee, I don't know, maybe you left your jacket on the floor when you came back?" 

Touya slapped himself on the forehead. "How could I have been so stupid?" 

"Good question," Sakura muttered. "You know what? I saw you and Maeko at school once, and quite frankly I can't see what's so great about her. For goodness' sake, Mizuki-sensei was prettier than her." 

"Don't say that," Touya admonished. His face softened and went all dreamy-like. "You just can't compare her to Kaho. Maeko's way out of her league. She's just so different. There's something special about her, something beautiful, something almost... magical. I just can't stop thinking about her." 

Sakura shook her head. _If only he knew._

"Chiharu-san, you're late!" Tomoyo gasped. 

Chiharu shook her head. "No, there's still ten minutes until the bell goes." 

"That's not it, I mean you're later than usual. You're always here thirty minutes before the bell. What happened?" 

"I was walking to school with Maeko-san," Chiharu explained, opening her locker and stuffing her lunch bag inside. "She was going to walk with Touya-san, but she didn't know where he lived." Chiharu tried to heave her bag over her shoulder, but it split and at least fifty different-colored rocks fell out. 

"Chiharu!" Rika exclaimed. She bent over and picked up one of the rocks on the floor, a large, sparkling red one. "What is this?" 

Chiharu blushed. "Um... it's for my rock collection. I had to add to it." 

"Don't you already have about a million of these?" Sakura asked. "You practically cleaned Tomoeda of every odd rock the last time you went rock hunting." 

Chiharu grinned and went to gather her rocks. "Let's just say it's my new obsession." 

Naoko shook her head. "Chiharu-san, we knew you were an oddball, but we didn't think it was gonna get this bad." 

Chiharu gasped, picked up the rest of her rocks, and rushed off without another word. Naoko shook her head. "I hope she doesn't stay too mad," she mused. "I have to go home with her after school to work on that stupid Music project." 

"Right, I forgot about that," Sakura began, but then something a few feet away caught her eye. She turned around and saw Touya and Maeko a few lockers away, all over each other and looking very busy. Sakura blushed, embarrassed, and motioned for her friends to move farther away. "That is so embarrassing," she muttered. 

"It's natural," Tomoyo said with a grin. "I think it's great that Touya has finally gotten over whoever it was he was going out with before." 

"Yeah, but does he have to be that public about it?" Sakura shook her head. "They've only been going out for two days now, it's freaky." 

"Don't worry about it." Tomoyo said comfortingly. 

The rest of the week just got stranger and stranger. Chiharu was a half hour late for school the next day, and she rushed into the classroom with her bag and every pocket in her school uniform stuffed with rocks. Naoko had suddenly developed a strange fondness for marmalade and bought twenty marmalade sandwiches for lunch. Her hands were practically dripping with marmalade the next period, and she struggled to lick the marmalade off her hands as Sakura and Tomoyo stared at her with disdain. "Since when did you like marmalade?" Tomoyo asked. 

"I had a sandwich at Chiharu's house," Naoko answered with a marmalade-covered finger in her mouth. "Maeko-san made it. It was so good, I just can't get enough of it. Let's just say it's my new obsession." 

Let's just say it's my new obsession. That phrase again, Sakura thought. "First Chiharu, now you. What's going on here?" 

Tomoyo shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with it. There's nothing at all wrong with crazy obsessions. Anyway, anyone up for a movie tonight? I heard that new one from America just came out, the one with that girl and that guy and those people, you know?" 

Sakura shook her head. "No, I don't know, not the way you describe it anyway. But yeah, let's go see something. Naoko, Rika, Chiharu! Wanna go see a movie later?" 

Chiharu reddened. "N-no... I can't." She hoisted her bag over her shoulder and headed to the door. "I have to go over to Maeko-san's house... going rock hunting again. Now that I think about it, I gotta go." With that, she rushed hurriedly out the door. Likewise, Naoko hurried out the door after Chiharu, saying that she had to meet someone who knew where to get cheap gourmet marmalade. 

Tomoyo shrugged. "Okay, fine. Rika-san, you're not going to back out on us, are you?" 

"Actually, I'm not sure," Rika said, blushing furiously. "I might be able to, but I've got a math tutoring session with Terada-sensei after school..." 

"That's fine," Sakura said, attempting to bite back the urge to crack a quick joke about Rika and her crush on Mr. Terada. "Maybe we'll catch a late movie. How about seven?" Rika and Tomoyo nodded their agreement. 

Tomoyo and Sakura met at the movie theatre a few hours later and waited patiently for Rika to show up. Sakura looked at her watch. "It's quarter to seven," she said. "Rika should be here by now. She'd better hurry or all the tickets will be sold out." 

Just then Tomoyo's cell phone rang, and she scurried through her purse to get it out. "Hello?... Rika! Where are you?... WHAT?! Still at school??... What exactly are you and Terada-sensei doing there, anyway?... Oh, I'm sorry, I know that was kind of uncalled for... So you're not coming?... That's alright. Maybe next weekend." Tomoyo turned off her phone and sighed sadly. "Rika-san's still at her tutoring session," she said. 

"After three hours? What's she doing there?" 

"I don't know, but we may as well go inside now. There's no use waiting anymore." Tomoyo and Sakura made their way to the ticket lineup, talking excitedly, but something in the corner of Sakura's eye made her stop. "Be quiet," Sakura muttered. "It's Maeko and my brother. I thought they went out last night, what are they doing here?" 

Tomoyo and Sakura watched Touya and Maeko out of they corner of their eyes. Touya looked rather listless and kept looking around while walking hand-in-hand with Maeko. "I think I should go home," he said quietly. "I've got a lot of homework to do." 

"But To-ya, we've been waiting forever to see this movie," Maeko said sweetly, looking down at her hand and playing with a ring she had around her finger. "We're already here, you may as well see it." 

"I know, but I've missed all my homework for the past three days. Adachi-sensei is going to have my head if I don't have anything done again." 

Even from a distance, the girls could see the angry flash in Maeko's eyes and hear the sweet tone in her voice vanish. "What are you trying to say here? That it's over? That you don't want to be with me anymore?" 

"No, Maeko, that's not it at all -" 

Maeko stopped and grabbed Touya by the wrist. She pulled him close to her, so that they were standing eye to eye. "You're not going anywhere," she growled, sounding more like a caged tiger than a sweet, caring girlfriend. Something on her hand glinted red for an instant, and Touya, who had gone completely rigid, suddenly relaxed. "Let's go," he said dazedly. "I'll just get my dad to write Adachi-sensei a note..." 

Maeko smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're the greatest." 

"Did you see that?" Tomoyo hissed. "Gosh, does your brother ever get whipped. That was freaky! And to think that girl used to be so shy." 

"Yeah," Sakura muttered suspiciously. "That was really odd..." 

"Has anyone seen Terada-sensei?" Syaoran asked a few days later. "I have to hand in that project." 

"I'm not sure," Rika began, but just then Sakura motioned for everyone to be quiet. Mr. Terada had walked out of a nearby classroom, followed closely by Maeko. The two were chatting comfortably, like close friends. "It was a pleasure to hear from you again," Terada-sensei said, and saw Maeko off with a smile and a wave. He turned around and spotted Sakura and her friends watching him. "Ah, Sasaki Rika. Just the girl I wanted to see. Come into the classroom, I have something I need to talk to you about." 

Rika turned a bright shade of red. "Hai, Sensei," she said quietly, and followed her teacher into the classroom, closing the door on her way in. 

"Is Rika-san in trouble again?" Syaoran asked. 

"Not that I know of," Sakura answered. "She's failed the last three spelling tests, but Terada-sensei has actually been really nice to her lately." 

"A little too nice," Naoko noted. She ran over to the door, peered through the glass, and gasped. "Guys, you won't believe what I'm seeing." 

"What is it?" The others crowded around the door window, but it was far too small and only Naoko could get a good-enough view of what was going on. "Come on, guys, move over, I'm the only one who can see anything... Syaoran, you're stepping on my foot! That's better... Oh my goodness, you guys have to see what I'm seeing!!" 

"What?" Sakura craned her neck. "What is it?" 

"Come on, Naoko-san, don't leave us in suspense!" Tomoyo cried. 

"Terada-sensei! He's... he's giving Rika-san something!!" 

"What is it, a failing grade?" Syaoran asked cynically. 

Naoko smashed her heeled shoe hard on Syaoran's foot. "For the last time, shut up! Terada-sensei gave Rika-san a... a..." 

"Come on, Naoko, I can't stand it anymore!!" Chiharu begged. "The rocks in my bag are weighing me down..." 

"It's... a ring!!! He gave her some kind of ring!!" Naoko adjusted her glasses and pressed her head against the window. "My goodness, it's gorgeous! Like... like a wedding ring! Guys, get out of my way, I have to move! Rika's gonna see us! And I need some marmalade!" 

The crowd moved quickly moved away from the door and assumed an innocent stance as Rika came out of the classroom. Her eyes were sparkling and there was a bright flush on her cheeks. A beatific smile lingered on her face. "Rika-san, what happened?" Sakura asked. 

Rika motioned for only Sakura to follow her, then she ran out of earshot from the others. Sakura's eyes moved from the elated look on Rika's face to the ring on her finger. It was made of pure gold, with a large cluster of diamonds in the centre. "Yoshiyuki-san," she said quietly, unable to contain her happiness. "He wants to marry me." 

"Who?!" Sakura asked incredulously. 

"Terada-sensei," Rika answered, and Sakura swore she'd never seen anyone turn as red as Rika had at that moment. "He gave me this - it's an advance engagement ring. When I graduate from high school - maybe even sooner - we're going to get married. He said he loved me, Sakura. Really loved me. Do you have any idea how wonderful it feels, to be loved like this?" 

Sakura shook her head, completely shocked. "Rika-san - have you totally lost it?! I know you really like Terada-sensei, but this?!" 

Rika smiled, and it was the first time Sakura had ever seen Rika smile like that. "It's not just like anymore, Sakura. It's love. It's almost an obsession." 

Sakura stared off at Rika as she walked down the hall to her locker, It's almost an obsession, Rika had said. But it was far more than an obsession now, it was something that was sweeping everyone into some sort of mania. Somehow, she knew that Maeko had something to do with it.


	4. Eriol's Return

_Sakura... _

The soft, deep voice whispering to her seemed to pull at her very existence, tugging at her soul, demanding her to listen to it. 

_Sakura... Sakura... _

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sakura whirled around, trying to find the owner of the voice, but all she could see was dense, blue-gray smoke, smelling strongly of vanilla and incense. The voice echoed around her, seeming to come from everywhere, but she could feel someone's breath, warm and soft against her ear. 

_I'm coming back, Sakura. _

"Coming back?" Sakura called into the heavily-scented smoke. 

_I'm coming back to you, Sakura. I'm coming back... _

"No, wait!" Sakura ran to where she thought the voice was coming from, but found nothing but more blue-gray smoke. "Wait! Don't go, please!" 

The voice began to fade away. _I'm coming back, Sakura... I'm coming back... coming back... coming... back... _

"No, don't leave! Please, don't go! I need to know who you are!" 

Just as Sakura thought she was fully alone, someone suddenly grasped her hand, freezing her in her tracks before she could turn around and see who it was. The voice was back again, but not echoing around her; it was right next to her, whispering softly, almost lovingly into her ear. 

"I'm coming back to protect you, Sakura." 

Sakura opened her eyes and bolted upright. It was the dead of night, Kero was still fast asleep beside her. The curtains fluttered in the breeze, and the wind cooled the beads of sweat forming on Sakura's forehead. Sakura took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She pulled the covers away, put on her slippers, turned on the little table lamp, and gasped. 

Lying in the place of the little pencil box that Oto-san had given her for her tenth birthday was a clear crystal vase filled with a dozen flawless white roses. The vase had a blue satin ribbon tied around it. Sakura lightly fingered the silky petals and felt Kero stir beside her. 

"Sakura? It's three in the morning, what are you doing up so - whoa," Kero muttered softly as he flew up to rest on Sakura's shoulder and saw the bouquet of roses. "You got a present? From who? And when?" 

"I... I don't know," Sakura said, sincerely puzzled. 

Kero flew up to the bouquet, inhaled deeply, and was suddenly wide awake. "Is it...?" he asked, seeming to talk to himself. Kero took another whiff of the beautiful flowers, then touched the petals. "Yes - yes, it has to be. It's got to be." 

"What? What is it?" 

"Clow Reed," Kero answered, in a hushed, reverent voice. 

"Clow Reed?" Sakura repeated incredulously. 

"Yes. Don't ask how I know, I just do." 

"But that's impossible!" Sakura began, but then she stopped. "Clow Reed... that's impossible... unless... unless you mean..." Sakura bolted out of bed and ran downstairs with Kero at her heels. 

"What are you doing? Are you going to use the phone? It's three in the morning!!" 

Sakura grinned. "Not in England," she replied, and picked up the phone. 

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Syaoran said sullenly, shuffling his feet uncomfortably as he, Tomoyo, and Sakura waited at the airport. 

"Oh, don't be such a downer," Tomoyo said cheerfully, arming herself with her video camera. "I, for one, am very happy to be seeing Eriol-san again." 

"Besides, he or Mizuki-sensei might know something about what's going on with the Lost Cards and everything," Sakura added. "After all, Eriol-san was the one who fought the Lost Cards in the first place. Half of him, anyway." 

Tomoyo kept her camera perpetually aimed at the arrival gate. All of a sudden she started jumping up and down like mad. "They're here!! All three of them! Eriol, Mizuki-sensei, and Nakuru-san!! They're all here!!" 

"Nakuru-san's here?" Sakura felt her stomach tie up in a knot. _If Nakuru ever found out that Touya and Maeko were going out... _

"Wow, Eriol-san looks so different!" Tomoyo cried, continuing her play-by-play. "His hair!! And his glasses!! Sakura, he looks great!" 

"Great," Syaoran muttered. "Can I go now?" 

Eriol looked around for a little while, his dark eyes searching the crowd for Sakura. Sakura remembered the lure those eyes had, how gently they had always looked upon her... she caught herself almost falling for him and waved. "Eriol-san! Over here!" 

Their eyes met, and Eriol's face lit up with a smile. He, Kaho, and Nakuru made their way over to them. "Sakura!" he yelled, and wrapped her in a friendly embrace. "So good to see you again," he said. "You haven't changed a bit, I see." 

"And you look so different," Sakura said, noting his thick black hair pulled into a loose ponytail, a few stray locks of hair trailing onto his shoulders. His glasses were different now, small square-shaped lenses with thin wire frames. She looked behind him at Kaho, who had cut her russet hair so that it just brushed her shoulders. Nakuru didn't change at all, but then again it was something Sakura almost expected of her. She could hear Syaoran grumbling behind her, complaining about the amount of time Sakura had spent in Eriol's embrace. "Okay. Back to business. Why did you come here?" 

"Eriol could sense that something terribly wrong was going on here," Kaho answered. "Naturally he was concerned for everyone's safety." 

"Yours in particular," Nakuru teased. "I swear, all he'd ever go on about was Sakura, Sakura, Sakura. I was _this _close to bopping him over the head." 

Eriol gave Sakura an innocent smile, and Sakura couldn't help but blush. Syaoran began grumbling audibly about something that set Nakuru off. "You shut up," she snapped. "Excuse me, you didn't even say hi to me today. No 'Hey there Nakuru, it's nice to see you again Nakuru, let me get your bags Nakuru'." 

"No wonder Touya-san hates you," Syaoran muttered. 

Nakuru grinned. "Glad to be of some use around here." 

"You don't know what you're up against, do you?" Eriol said softly, taking Sakura's hand. 

It was all Sakura could do not to wrestle it out of Eriol's grasp. "I have an idea. Three cards. Evil ones. All out to get me because they hate you - I mean, they hate Clow Reed." 

"That's the gist of it, yes." 

"So how can I track them down?" 

"That's the thing. I could probably help you there, but it's been so long since I last saw the Lost Cards that I couldn't pinpoint them out even if I tried. But there is something I could give you to help you." Eriol dug through his backpack. "It was of tremendous aid to me." 

"Aw, you got her a present?" Tomoyo cooed. "Why didn't I get a present?" 

Eriol smiled. "Don't worry, Tomoyo-san, you're special too. Ah, there it is." Eriol pulled a necklace out from the depths of his bag, a thin silver chain with with a star-shaped pendant of pink opal. He fastened it about Sakura's neck. "This is something of a magic tracker; it won't track down exactly who has a Lost Card on them, but it tracks down who's under their power and to what degree. As I said before, this was incredibly useful to me when I first encountered the Cards - of course, it wasn't a pink star at first, I had that redone to suit your purposes..." 

"Thank you," Sakura said, lost for words. 

Syaoran stood off at a distance grumbling. "First he goes and stalks her in her dreams, now he's giving her expensive magical presents. I can't believe this guy." 

Tomoyo playfully punched Syaoran in the arm. "You're so jealous." 

On the way home from the airport, Syaoran tapped Sakura on the shoulder while Eriol and the others were engaged in conversation with Tomoyo. "I don't want you wearing that necklace," Syaoran muttered. 

"Hoee?! Why not? This could help us, you know." 

"Look, just don't wear it, okay? I have a really bad feeling about that thing." 

"Why, because Eriol-san gave it to me?" 

"I don't trust Eriol," Syaoran said sharply. "You know it and I know it. He tried to destroy you the last time we saw him, remember?" 

"He wasn't trying to destroy me, he was trying to help me out with the Sakura Cards," Sakura retorted. 

"That's what he says. Look, I don't care if he's an incarnation of Clow Reed or not. I don't trust him and I don't think you should either. He could just be out for your powers too, just like the Lost Cards are." 

"You're just jealous," Sakura yelled, catching the attention on everyone on the bus. 

"Jealous?! Are you crazy? Why would I be jealous?" 

"Oh, gee, I don't know, maybe because Eriol is sweet and kind and understanding, because Eriol actually realizes I exist, because Eriol cares about me very much and you do nothing of the sort?!" 

"See, that pendant's already gone to your head! Get it off now!" Syaoran's hand wrapped around the star-shaped pendant, and he shrank back in pain as the pendant burned itself into his skin. "Ow, that burns!" 

Sakura gasped, surprised that Syaoran had been hurt, and hastily unfastened the chain. She wrapped it around her keychain. "There, it's gone. Are you happy now?" And then, "Are you alright? I'm sorry." 

"It's not your fault," Syaoran said, shooting an angry look at Eriol as he sat laughing and talking with Tomoyo and Nakuru. Kaho was several seats ahead staring out the window, deep in thought. Eriol's dark eyes locked with Syaoran's amber ones, and for a moment the two shared a furious glare, a glare between rivals. "Is there a problem, Syaoran-san?" Eriol asked, kindly but with a frosty edge to his voice. 

"Everything's just peachy," Syaoran answered, with a heavy overtone of resentment in his voice. 

Sakura looked back and forth between Eriol and Syaoran, and burst into tears. "You two are such blockheads!!!" she shrieked, and ran from the seat beside Syaoran to the empty seat next to Kaho. 

Sakura spent the next week completely alone. 

Touya was constantly out of the house with Maeko, and the only time she'd seen him at home was when he introduced Maeko to Oto-san. The next day, Oto-san left for work at five in the morning and didn't come back until three the next morning, then left again at five. Chiharu and Naoko were never at school anymore, although Chiharu had been seen out in the fields scrounging for rocks and Naoko was usually at the grocery with her arms full of marmalade jars and sliced bread. Rika and Terada-sensei were always together, hanging off each other like a couple of lovesick puppies. 

"Crazy," Tomoyo had muttered. "All crazy." 

But it seemed that Tomoyo had soon fallen into the craze. After talking to Maeko in the library, Tomoyo was suddenly unable to go out at all during weekends. 

"You can't be serious!" Sakura exclaimed. "We always go out on weekends. You said so yourself that you never have anything to do." 

"Well... I'm working on something incredibly important." 

"What can be more important than catching a movie?" 

"Plenty of things, for your information." Tomoyo walked away in a huff, and didn't speak to Sakura for the rest of the week. 

Eriol had enrolled for a few weeks at Seijo because he couldn't afford to miss his schooling, and the animosity between him and Syaoran continued. They couldn't pass each other in the hall without glaring at each other or throwing some sort of insult. Sakura was sick and tired of it. She talked to both of them outside during lunch. 

"Look, if you guys have some kind of beef with each other then that's okay," Sakura said. "But I'm sick and tired of you fighting, especially when I'm around. If you can't settle your differences then I don't see why I have to get involved. Talk to me after you stop acting like a couple of two year olds." With that, she walked away. 

Sakura spent pretty much the rest of the week alone, staring sadly off at her friends as they went on with their little obsessions. Even Kero disappeared eventually, spending most of his time at Eriol's apartment talking with Suppy and Kaho. Sakura woke up Saturday morning to find herself completely alone. She walked down to the kitchen and found three notes on the table, one from Oto-san saying that he'd be at work for the entire weekend (No surprise there, Sakura thought angrily), one from Touya saying that he was spending the weekend up at Maeko's cottage with Yukito and some other people, and one from Kero saying that he and Suppy had hit on something about the Lost Cards and he'd be over at Mizuki-sensei's house discussing about it. "Finally, some good news," Sakura said to herself. 

"What's the matter, having a bad day?" 

Sakura whipped around and gasped. Maeko was sitting atop the counter behind her, smiling smugly. "How did you get in here?" Sakura demanded. 

"To-ya gave me a spare key," Maeko replied, her voice sweet with a deliberate scornful edge. "I'd have thought you would have been suspicious, seeing as he never does that." 

Sakura was startled but tried not to show it. "Get out of here. I thought you were up at the cottage. That's what Oniichan's note said." 

Maeko smiled another smug smile and lifted her hand. A blazing fireball sat in it. "I thought I'd pay you a visit," she said darkly. 

Sakura backed up against the wall as Maeko approached her. A loud, high-pitched whistling sound was going off in her head; she wondered why Maeko didn't seem to hear it. Then she felt something around her wrist becoming warm... it was Eriol's charm, picking up something from Maeko. And somehow, Sakura knew it was something definitely bad.


	5. Burning

Maeko hurled the fireball at Sakura, who had barely gotten out of the way; the unfortunate armchair in the corner was now nothing but a smoldering wreckage. "Don't ask so many questions. Can't I just destroy you without you making such a fuss about it?" 

Sakura fumbled for something of a solution. "You know, if you really did love Oniichan so much, you wouldn't try to burn me to a crisp," she noted. 

Maeko laughed and threw another fireball. "You shallow little brat, you really thought I loved your brother? Don't make me laugh. He's just a pawn, Sakura. _My _pawn. He's nothing but a tiny figment of a master plan, just like you." 

"Hey, watch where you're throwing that thing!" Sakura narrowly missed another blast of fire. "So if you don't love him then why are you so hung up on keeping him as close to you as possible?" 

"Don't you get it?" Maeko asked. "I thought someone like you would have figured this out already. The Creator must have been crazy when he said you were all-powerful..." 

"Wait a second... you're - you're one of those things!!" Sakura cried. "A Lost Card!" She fumbled through her pockets searching desperately for her Star Key. _Come on, where is it? _she thought, _don't tell me I left it upstairs... how could I be so stupid at a time like this... _

"Ah, so you _are _smarter than you look." Something on Maeko's hand glowed red, like it had when Sakura had seen her and Touya at the mall, and Maeko's eyes began to glow the same shade. She held Sakura's Star Key in her hand and laughed softly. "Missing something?" 

"Give it back!" Sakura was just about ready to lunge at Maeko, but she remembered that she was pretty much defenseless without her Key. 

"Make me," Maeko countered. 

"Get away from her!" The kitchen window shattered and Eriol, Spinel Sun, and Ruby Moon flew through the opening. Maeko gasped and turned around, and Sakura used this chance to grab the Star Key out of her hand. 

Maeko glared at Eriol. "Clow Reed," she muttered bitterly. "Even I could see through that ridiculous new getup of yours." 

"That doesn't matter," Ruby Moon cut in, her ebony butterfly wings fluttering slightly. "You have no power here. Return to your master now or be destroyed." 

"Destroyed?" Maeko gave a mocking sort of chuckle. "That's funny, it's like you forgot who the all-powerful one in here is." 

"It's me, remember?" Sakura held out her fully-extended Star Wand. "Go back to your Creator - whoever he is - and tell him to leave me and my friends alone." 

"I won't be doing anything of the sort, missy." 

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Sakura!" Yukito yelled. "Hey, Sakura! Are you in there?" 

Maeko gasped. She turned and glared at Sakura and Eriol. "You two got a lucky break," she muttered. "Savour it, because you're not gonna be so lucky the next time I see you." Just as Maeko vanished in a tongue of fire, the door broke open and Yukito came staggering in. He flashed Sakura an embarrassed grin. "Sorry about that, I'll fix it in a second. Just wanted to see if To-ya was home..." He trailed off suddenly and stared at Eriol, Spinel Sun, Ruby Moon, and the fiery remains of an armchair and a coffee table. "Um... did I interrupt anything here?" 

Eriol walked briskly up to Yukito, waving his hand over his eyes, and Yukito fell fast asleep. "That was not good," Eriol said. "Hopefully he won't remember any of this when he wakes up." 

There was a small gust of wind, and Sakura could see the room become illuminated by the soft glow that emanated from Yue. His wings fluttered slightly as he got down on one knee. "You have returned, Master," he said, sounding slightly happier than he usually did. He nodded politely to Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun, both of whom nodded back. Then Yue surveyed the damage in the kitchen, his violet eyes darting from Sakura to the burning armchair. He raised his hand and the fire was extinguished immediately. "I see the Possession Card has been here," he said sternly. 

Sakura recalled what had happened the last time Yue had named a Lost Card. "You named the card again. Does this mean it's lost some of its power?" 

Spinel Sun shook his head. "The Card is not present," he said, the feline purr very present in his voice. "It only works when the Card is here." 

"Oh, alright." Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for dropping by, Eriol. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't come." 

Eriol bowed. "I should at least pay you back for the damaged window." He raised his hand towards the empty window and the broken fragments of glass rearranged themselves in the pane. "But that wasn't the reason I came. I suppose it was just coincidence that the Possession was here at the same time." 

"Hoee? Then why are you here?" 

Eriol took a deep breath. "It's Syaoran," 

"You were talking to him again? That's great -" 

"No, Sakura. There's something wrong with him. Very wrong. I don't know what it is though, he won't let me into his apartment. And I need you to come with me. Perhaps you can figure out what's wrong." 

Sakura could feel a weight drop in her chest. "Oh no." She practically leaped onto Spinel Sun's back. "You have to take me to him. Now." 

A few moments later they were outside Syaoran's apartment. Sakura had only been there once or twice, but she clearly remembered the smell of spice and sandalwood that lingered in the air even down the hallway. Today, however, there was no such scent wafting down the hall. "Do you smell something?" she asked. 

Eriol sniffed the air and sneezed. "That's hay," he said, his nose slightly stuffy. "That is definitely hay. Except what would hay be doing in an apartment building?" 

As they came closer, Sakura could hear the faint strains of a fiddle playing hoedown music. She almost thought she could hear a banjo, but it couldn't be. Perhaps it was just a part of her imagination... She knocked on the door. "Syaoran? Are you in there?" 

"Sakura?" 

"Yes, it's me." 

The door opened, and Sakura gasped. "Syaoran! What have you done to yourself?!" 

Eriol couldn't conceal his own surprise. "Oh my goodness." 

Syaoran grinned. "D'you like it?" 

The high-pitched whistle went off again in Sakura's head. She tried hard to stifle a giggle. "It's... it's very... original." 

Syaoran adjusted his black suede cowboy hat. "Thanks, I knew y'all would like it." 

Eriol laughed. He was laughing so hard that he fell to the floor, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Y'all?! What do you think you are, some kind of cowboy?" 

"I don't think, buckaroo, I am." Syaoran walked inside with Sakura, Eriol, Ruby Moon, Yue, and Spinel Sun following him. Sakura couldn't believe the transformation that had occurred. The small apartment had once been decorated in the style of an ancient Chinese temple; now the 'temple' was covered in hay, saddles, and assorted western paraphernalia. The skull of a bull was mounted over the door; Sakura had once seen something like it in a very old, very cheesy Western movie. "What have you done to your apartment?" she cried. 

"I've been doing a little redecorating," Syaoran answered. "Had to go get some tutoring for Modern Japanese class, and I got paired up with Harada Maeko. Pretty little thing, she is." Syaoran cleared some hay off a crate and invited everyone to sit down. "Anywho, we had to go have a tutoring session at my place a couple of days ago, and she suggested some redecorating tips for me. I didn't know I had such a penchant for western flair." 

"I didn't know that either," Eriol muttered. He grabbed Sakura's arm. "Could I talk to you for a second?" 

"Don't be too long now," Syaoran called as Eriol and Sakura headed into the hall. 

"I heard an odd whistling in my head," Sakura said, closing the door. 

"Yeah, that's the charm. Syaoran's definitely under the Obsession Card's spell. And he's not the only one." 

"Yeah, I figured. Tomoyo, Rika, Naoko, and Chiharu have completely stopped coming to school. Have you seen them?" 

"Yes, I have. Naoko and Chiharu are at home resting - putting so much time and energy into Maeko's spell has completely worn them out. Tomoyo was sitting at home sewing." 

"Well, that seems normal." 

"She's not sewing you a Battle Costume. She's just sewing aimlessly. She's almost as bad as Syaoran is right now. Speaking of Syaoran, this means he can't exactly help you out when you take the Card on." 

"Oh, great. Now what do I do?" 

"I'm afraid you'll have to capture the Card on your own," Eriol answered. "I would help you, except for the fact that my magic - at least in this form - is pretty much useless." 

Sakura slumped onto the ground. "By myself? Eriol-san, I don't know if I can do it. I couldn't do it the first time." 

"You're a lot stronger since then. It'll be okay, I believe in you." Eriol placed a small, innocent kiss on Sakura's cheek. "Come on, let's get back inside. Syaoran-san is going to have a fit." 

Sakura heard country music coming through the apartment wall. "No, it's okay. I think I'll go over to your place for a while. I'm gonna be sick if I hear another note of this stupid music." 

Sakura practically strangled Kero with a hug when she got to Eriol's house. "Do you have any idea how happy I am to see you?" 

Kero grinned. "The burning furniture? Yeah, I could guess." 

Sakura informed Kero about the problem with Syaoran, and it was all Kero could do not to start laughing. "This isn't funny!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's pathetic! He dresses in studded leather, wears a cowboy hat, plays country music, and has hay all over the floor of his apartment!! This is not funny at all!" 

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Kero said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. "Back to business. This really isn't good - although I'll admit the fact that I'm enjoying hearing about this - okay, okay! I'm not." 

Sakura shook her head. "Eriol said I'll have to face the Card by myself this time." 

"What are you, nuts? Eriol, don't scare her like that. You've got me, remember?" 

Sakura gave Kero a hug. "Of course. Thanks a lot." 

Sakura and Kero chatted avidly on their way home. They had just stepped out of the ice cream shop wielding sundaes when Sakura stopped. "Look, Kero! Smoke! There's a fire somewhere!" 

Kero rose into the air and looked farther in the direction of the fire. "Oh my goodness... Sakura, it's around our neighborhood! We'd better get going!" 

Sakura and Kero sprinted down the road, and as they turned onto their street Sakura stopped dead in her tracks and dropped her ice cream on the ground. Where her house once stood was now a smouldering wreckage, fierce flames still flickering about the lot as if they owned the place. Sakura gasped. "Oniichan! Oto-san! They could have been in there!" She sank to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. _This has gone way too far, _Sakura thought, wrapping her hands tightly around her Star Key. _You've toed the line, Maeko. Now it's personal._


	6. Confrontation

"Tomoyo-san!!" Sakura knocked wildly on the door of Tomoyo's house. "Tomoyo-san, I know you're in there! Open up!! Tomoyo!!!" 

The door opened slowly, and Tomoyo's mother Sonomi looked out at Sakura. She smiled in a friendly way and opened the door further. "Why, hello Sakura. How are you today?" 

"Very well, Mrs. Daidouji, thank you." Sakura bowed politely. "Is Tomoyo-san there? I really need to speak to her." 

Sonomi looked a little troubled. "Well... she is here, Sakura-san, but I'm afraid she won't come down to see you. She hasn't been taking visitors all week. I'm beginning to think there's something terribly wrong with her." She put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and led her into the large, beautiful house. "You're her best friend, Sakura-san. Perhaps you could figure out what's wrong with Tomoyo." 

"I'll try my best," Sakura said. 

Sonomi knocked on the locked door of Tomoyo's room. "Tomoyo-kun! There's someone here to see you." 

"Oka-san, I'm busy right now!" Tomoyo yelled from the other side of the door. 

"Are you sure, dear? It's Sakura! She says she has to talk to you!" 

Tomoyo paused. "Oh, all right, but it'll have to be quick." 

Sonomi shrugged. "She's been like this all week," she said sadly. "I'll go downstairs and have Akane-san bake you some cookies. 

Sakura bowed. "Thanks a lot, Mrs. Daidouji." She turned to the open door, where a very sleep-deprived, cross-looking Tomoyo stood glaring at her. "Can I come in?" Sakura asked timidly. 

"Fine, but make it quick." Tomoyo ushered Sakura into her room. "I'm busy." 

Sakura looked at the giant piece of fabric on Tomoyo's sewing table. It was like a small, awkwardly-shaped patchwork quilt, bits and pieces of silk, chiffon, satin, vinyl, and ribbon sewed together. "Um... what are you doing?" Sakura asked. 

"Oh!" Tomoyo ran over to the desk and hastily shoved the mismatched pieces of cloth into a bag. "Just a little project I'm working on, nothing too special, really." 

The strange urgency in Tomoyo's voice... "Are you sure?" Sakura inquired. "Could I help?" 

"No." The words came out with a bitter, harsh edge. "Okay, what did you want to talk about?" 

"Um... not much," Sakura said slowly, somewhat hurt. "Just wanted to see what's up, that's all." 

"Okay. Well, it was nice of you to drop by. If you don't mind, I'm a little busy..." 

Sakura could sense something strange about Tomoyo, she could see something in her eyes, as if there was something fighting inside. "Fight it, Tomoyo," Sakura whispered. "Don't let the Card win, just keep fighting it, everything will be alright, but you have to keep fighting that Card." 

For a moment it was as if Tomoyo actually heard what Sakura had said. Tears seemed to well up in her eyes. Then it vanished. "What are you talking about?" Tomoyo asked, sounding a little annoyed. 

Sakura waved it off sadly. "Never mind. I'll see you later." 

On her way out, Sonomi stopped her. "Won't you stay a while longer?" she asked. 

"No, thank you. I've got some business I need to take care of." 

"Ah, I see." Sonomi handed Sakura a small violet tin. "Take some of these, then. Akane-san was going to bring them up to you and Tomoyo, but since you're leaving so soon I asked her to just pack a few for you." 

Sakura took the little box and bowed. "Arigatou, Mrs. Daidouji." 

"Thanks a lot for letting me stay over, Yukito-san." Sakura couldn't help but blush a bit as she walked through the door of the Tsukishiro house. 

Yukito grinned. "Anytime, sweetie. I kinda have to make up for spending so much time over at your place, anyway. I mean, where else could you go, after a tragedy like that?" 

Sakura smiled and started to make her way up to the guest room, but Yukito called her back. "Wait up, Sakura-san! I forgot - I've got something here for you, a package from Kyoto." 

"Hoeee?" Sakura ran back down the stairs. "I don't know anyone from Kyoto..." She ran up to the large box standing in the middle of Yukito's living room, opened it, and saw clothes - piles upon piles of clothing. "Hoee... who could have sent this to me?" 

"There's an envelope," Yukito noted. 

Sakura opened the envelope and picked up the single sheet of baby blue paper that fell out of it. She read: 

_Dear Sakura, _

_I'm so sorry about what happened to your house, you must feel awful. I hope no one was hurt. Don't ask about how I found out so quickly; news from Tomoeda normally doesn't make it to Kyoto. I guess some of that old magic never does wear off, if you know what I mean. _

_Speaking of magic, I also know that Touya-san and Fujitaka-sensei aren't there with you. Right now they're in a lot of danger, although I don't know what kind of danger they might be in. Please, Sakura, be careful of who you trust. _

_Since the fire completely totaled your house, I've sent you some of my old clothes; hopefully they all fit. I know how much you like the color pink but unfortunately pink never looked all that great on me. Take care of yourself, and say 'hi' to Yukito-san for me. _

_Your cousin, _

_Kari_

"Kari-san sent this to you?" Yukito grinned. "Wow, that was really nice of her." 

"Yeah. She says 'hi', by the way." 

"Cool." 

Yukito helped Sakura bring the giant box upstairs, and as Sakura went through all of the beautiful, predominantly light blue clothes, she figured things may not turn out so bad after all. And she was happy to hear from Kari again. 

"You know, Sakura, blue's not that bad of a color on you," Kero noted. 

"Yeah. But I don't want to stay here too long, I'd hate to impose on Yukito-san. I want to finish this once and for all." 

"Good idea." 

"Hey, Sakura-san!" Yukito called from downstairs. "I'm gonna go get us some groceries. Wanna come?" 

"No thanks." Sakura walked down the stairs. "I've got some unfinished business I need to take care of." With that, she walked out the door, Kero and the Sakura Cards tucked safely into her backpack. 

Sakura knocked impatiently on the door of the small, neat house. She surveyed her surroundings as she waited for someone to answer the door. The lawn was manicured and immaculately green, flanked by a perfect little row of red geraniums. A bush bearing red roses grew outside the kitchen window, the crimson blossoms looking like shotgun blasts against the white walls of the house. 

"You know, Sakura," Kero said, sounding slightly nervous, "maybe she isn't even home. Maybe we should just go -" 

"I want this done and over with," Sakura interrupted. She knocked on the door again, and a small woman with straight, raven-black hair opened the door. "C-can I help you?" she asked timidly. 

"Are you Mrs. Harada?" Sakura asked. 

"Why - yes, yes I am." 

Sakura bowed. "Is Maeko-san home? I'm an acquaintance of hers. She might be expecting me." 

"Ah - no, Maeko is not here right now..." The woman looked strangely confused. "But please... please - do come in." 

Mrs. Harada led Sakura into the house. It was cozy and well-lit, decorated with cute little homemade touches; terra-cotta pot warmers, hand-woven dish towels, cute little fridge magnets holding perfect tests and pictures painted in the universal hand of the child. "This is a nice place you've got here," Sakura said kindly. 

"Yes - thank you." Mrs. Harada still sounded incredibly tense. She motioned shakily to the flower-print couch in the living room. "Please, have a seat." 

Sakura sat down and waited as Mrs. Harada scurried about making tea. "So, where do you know Maeko from?" she asked. 

"She's a friend of my brother's," Sakura answered. 

"Ah, I see." Mrs. Harada presented Sakura a cup of tea with shaky hands. "Please, forgive me for being so clumsy." Tears sprang to Mrs. Harada's eyes. "It's... it's just that... I'm so happy. Maeko was such a quiet girl... people used to tell me she was so talented and intelligent but ended up being a social failure... she has never... never had many friends..." She wrapped Sakura in a hug. "Thank you so much, dear... thank you." 

"Um... you're welcome." Social failure? Sakura thought, Wow, you could have fooled me. 

"Oh - I'm so sorry about that." Mrs. Harada let go of Sakura. "So sorry... anyway... I'm afraid Maeko isn't here right now... in fact, she hasn't been here for a long while. I've become very worried about her, she's never been gone for so long." Mrs. Harada clasped Sakura's hand. "Please... please find her. I just can't imagine why she's been gone so long, and I'm worried sick... find her, dear, please." 

Sakura nodded, feeling sympathy for Mrs. Harada. It wasn't her fault that her daughter had become a magical maniac on the loose. "I'll try my best." 

Sakura was on her way back to Yukito's house when Kero peeped out of Sakura's bag and pointed at something. "Is that a fire over there?" he asked. 

Sakura looked closely in the direction that Kero was pointing in. There was a small pinpoint of yellow-orange light, flickering about like a firefly. "It could be just a firefly," Sakura said, but then she remembered what Yukito had said about fireflies when they had gone to the Summer Festival a few years before. "Wait a sec.. it's too early for fireflies." 

The little light darted over to where Sakura was standing and zoomed around her head. Sakura could feel a trail of heat every time the light flew past her face. "It's fire!" she exclaimed. "It's a little floating tongue of fire!" 

"Then I guess we can also figure out who made it," Kero noted. 

The yellow light flew around Sakura's head a couple more times, then zoomed off in the direction of Sakura's house. "Maeko, probably," Sakura said. "Come on, let's follow it." 

A few minutes later Sakura stood at the door of what was left of her house. Strangely enough, the embers were still glowing even though it had been three days since the fire was put out. "Must have been a pretty bad fire," Kero said, surveying the damage. 

"That or it means the Obsession is here somewhere," Sakura added. "Geez, what I wouldn't do for one of Tomoyo's fireproof Battle Costumes right now..." She took a cautious step through the doorway and winced. "It's too hot. How are we going to get inside?" Then she hit on a brilliant idea. She summoned the Freeze Card to make an icy path from the doorway to the basement, then she used her backpack as a snowboard and slid into the house. 

"Sakura, we'd better get a move on!" Kero yelled, watching the ice melting almost instantaneously as it touched the steaming floor. 

"Yeah, I figured," Sakura yelled back. "Go faster, Freeze Card!" 

After a few moments they were down in the basement, which for all Sakura knew could have been the inside of a volcano. Pillars of fire burned where the bookshelves used to be, and in place of her father's desk was a formation of lava that looked a lot like a throne of some sort. Sitting in the stone chair was a strange-looking girl with disheveled black hair and large black bat wings folded behind her. The girl looked up at Sakura with red eyes burning like embers. "Welcome to my world," she said darkly. "I've been expecting you." 

"Who are you?" Sakura asked. "And what are you doing in my house?" 

The girl lifted her hand, and spires of fiery rock burst up out of the ground around Sakura. She laughed as Sakura cringed, trying to stay as far away as possible from the burning cage around her. "You know, Sakura, sometimes your idiocy never ceases to amaze me." 

"Don't bother insulting me, just answer my question!" Sakura yelled, fumbling in her pockets for her Star Key. "Who are you?" 

The girl rose slowly from the chair, straightened her robes of ebony leather and velvet, and walked towards Sakura. "I burn in the hearts of men, brighter than any bonfire. I took away your friends and caused discord amid your family." The girl put held on to one of the bars of the cage, and instantly the temperature seemed to rise. Sakura closed her eyes and put all of her strength into not passing out. "I ruined your life, Sakura, and you still don't know who I am?" 

Sakura opened her eyes slowly and yelled, "Release!" The Wand grew to its full length and hit the girl in the stomach, knocking her backwards. For a moment the girl was suspended in mid-air, doubled over in pain. The stone cage lifted, and Sakura stepped quickly out of the way. "Obsession Card, return to your power con - whoa!" Sakura ducked as the bars from her cage separated and started flying towards her. She somersaulted and backflipped out of the way, narrowly missing a pillar of fire. 

The girl laughed at Sakura's exploits. "Too hot for you, Cardcaptor? Just say when, and I'll end it all nice and quick." 

Sakura summoned the Jump Card and bounded away from the flaming spears. "Not a chance," she answered. "I'm just getting warmed up." 

The girl gave Sakura a dark smile and lifted her hand again. The pillars of fire twisted into giant flaming hands that swiped and clawed at Sakura. She jumped over the fiery fingers, trying hard not to let any part of her catch fire. "Kero!" she yelled. "A little help here, if you don't mind!" 

Kero was busy fighting off fireballs. "I was just about to ask you for some myself!" he yelled back, flying out of the way of a fireball. "Try the Watery Card!" 

Sakura summoned the Watery Card, which ran rampant through the room and put out all the fires. The Obsession Card looked shocked, but only for a moment; she raised her hand again and the room burst into flames as it had before. "Again!" Sakura screamed to the Watery Card, and once again it washed out all the fires. But, like before, the Obsession Card lifted her hand and the fires started up again. "It's not working!!" Sakura yelled! "Kero, it's not working!! Kero? KERO!!!" 

Sakura searched frantically for Kero, finding him shackled against the wall next to the Obsession Card's throne. The Obsession Card laughed at the look on Sakura's face. "That's one down, Cardcaptor. And one to go." 


	7. Extinguishing the Flame

Sakura looked around her desperately, trying to find someway she could stall for time so she could call Eriol, get him to help her somehow. "What are you torturing poor little Kero for?" she asked. _If only there was some way I could get to my bag,_ Sakura thought. _Maybe I could use Tomoyo's cell phone... _

The Obsession Card laughed. "It's fun, okay? I'm allowed to have my fun." 

The ground under Sakura's feet began to shake, and Sakura managed to jump out of the way just in time to avoid a fountain of molten lava that burst out of the ground. More cascades of lava came from the ground, and soon the floor was a burning sea of lava. Sakura grabbed onto a half-burnt piece of wood hanging from the ceiling as the ground disappeared from beneath her. 

"Admit it, Sakura!" the Obsession Card cried. "You're in over your head! Surrender your powers now and maybe - just maybe - I'll let everyone go." 

"Not a chance!!" Sakura answered vehemently, feeling her grip on the wood begin to weaken. _If I just fall into the lava, _Sakura thought, _they'll go away and they'll leave my friends alone because they know they can't get the Star power if I'm dead... She let go of the rafter with one hand. If they can't get me, then they can't win... I should just let go... just let go... _

Sakura let go of the rafter with her other hand, and it was almost as if time was slowing down. She was falling, falling in extremely slow motion. She could see the Obsession Card's shocked look on her face, she could see Kero open his eyes and yell, "Sakura!! No!!" She closed her eyes, knowing she was about to hit the ground, and saw faces flashing before her eyes; Naoko, Rika, and Chiharu... Eriol, Mizuki-sensei, and Nakuru... Syaoran... Tomoyo... Oniichan and Oto-san... finally, Oka-san... 

Right before she was going to hit the ground, Sakura saw one last face before her... it was Yukito... strange, how she would see Yukito's face last... She felt the intense heat of the lava and braced herself for the impact... 

"Sakura! Wake up! Now!!" 

Sakura opened her eyes and found herself wrapped in white silken robes. "Yue?" she said. "Why are you - what are you doing here?" 

"I'm doing my job," Yue answered, his wings folded around Sakura, blocking her from the flames that the Obsession Card was hurling. "Protecting you. Now use the Freeze Card to get the Obsession Card under control; her powers come from the element Fire, so if we can get rid of all the fire around here she'll be significantly weaker and easier to capture." 

Sakura summoned the Freeze Card. "Freeze everything in this house, except me, Yue, and Kero! Go!!" 

Instantly, the entire house began to turn into ice. The lava froze over, the fires burnt out, and everything was covered in a sparkling layer of frost. Kero's cage broke and he slumped to the ground. Sakura ran up to catch him. 

The Freeze Card turned its attention to the Obsession Card, who was standing in the centre of the icy room, her wings folded around her as she struggled to keep warm. The Freeze opened its mouth and breathed an icy cold gust of wind on the Obsession Card. The Card began to slowly turn into ice, starting from her feet and working its way up. The ice began to melt slowly as the Obsession Card produced a fireball and held it close to the ice. 

"It's not working!" Sakura yelled. "Now what?" 

"I don't know!" Yue answered. 

Sakura hit on another brilliant idea. She summoned the Big Card and ordered it to make the Freeze Card grow. Ina few moments, a colossal icy fish was in the middle of the room. It opened its mouth and breathed a blizzard onto the Obsession Card, who was covered in ice before she could do anything. The look of surprised fury was frozen - literally - on her face. 

"Good work, Sakura," Yue said. "Now capture the Card, before it wreaks any more havoc around here." 

Sakura nodded and lifted her wand. "Obsession Card, return to your power confined!" 

A red glow filled the entire room, and when the glow subsided Sakura found herself standing in the middle of the forest outside her school. She was holding the Obsession Card in her hand. She stuffed the Card in her pocket and looked around to see Maeko lying unconscious on the ground. 

"Great capture, Sakura," Kero said groggily from on the ground beside her. 

Sakura knelt down and gave Kero a hug. "Thanks a lot, Kero-chan." 

Touya opened his eyes and found himself sitting in his own bed. "That's strange," he said to himself. "I could have sworn I was up at the cottage with Yukito and Maeko..." He got up out of bed and checked the rest of the house. Fujitaka was asleep in his own room, while Sakura's bed was empty. "Where's Sakura?" Touya wondered. "She's not in here... not even that stupid stuffed animal she's always carrying around is here..." Something odd was nagging at Touya; he got dressed, hopped on his bike, and rode towards the forest. 

Tomoyo woke up abruptly and realized just how much her hands were aching. "What on earth..." she wondered aloud, looking at the giant assortment of fabric scraps sitting in front of her. "What have I been doing all this time?" She looked down at her hands and screamed. They were red from all the sewing that she'd done, covered in cuts that were left without bandages and still bleeding. "Oka-san!!" she screamed. 

Sonomi ran into her daughter's room. "Tomoyo! Are you all right?" She lifted up one of Tomoyo's hands and gasped. "Everything's going to be all right, dear, just let me take you to the nurse..." Sonomi picked up Tomoyo and carried her to the nurse's room like a little child. "Don't worry, Tomoyo darling, everything is going to be fine." 

Tomoyo fell asleep there in her mother's arms, knowing that somehow everything really was going to be fine. 

Syaoran woke up and started sneezing like crazy. What's the matter with me? he wondered, making his way out of bed into the living room. The sight that met him there made him gasp. "My living room!" he cried. "It's covered in hay!!" Unable to continue because of his sneezing fits, Syaoran ran into his room, changed into some normal clothes, and ran to the pharmacy to get some cold medicine. 

"Hey, wake up." 

Touya knelt by the side of the girl on the ground, shaking her gently. "Come on, get up. Are you okay?" 

The girl stirred and sat up, brushing her long black hair away from her face. She blinked and looked up at Touya with large, shy, chocolate brown eyes, the prettiest eyes Touya had ever seen in his life. He couldn't help but smile. "Are you alright now, Maeko?" he asked. 

"I... I think so," the girl replied. "But I can't find my glasses, I won't be able to see a thing without them." 

Touya picked up the pair of blue, wire-framed glasses next to him and put them back on. "There, is that better?" 

"Yes, thank you." Maeko looked up and smiled, but her smile vanished once she realized who she was talking to. "Oh - Kinomoto Touya! Is that you?" 

"Yeah." 

Maeko blushed, and Sakura swore she'd never seen anyone turn that shade of red before. "I... um... Thank you... I guess." 

Touya smiled, took Maeko's hand, and lifted her off the ground. "Anytime." 

Watching from a distance, Sakura grinned. Even without the aid of evil magic, it was still obvious that Touya and Maeko were really meant for each other. 

"I guess that all turned out pretty well," Sakura said the next morning at school. The elementary school was still under repair, but it would be finished by the next year. 

"It did, except I couldn't get any footage." Tomoyo rubbed her bandaged hands gingerly. "My hands are still swollen from all that sewing. It took me forever to figure out what to do with all that extra cloth. Obviously we can't use it for a Battle Costume." 

"Yeah, and I couldn't get all that stupid hay out of my apartment until last night." Syaoran sneezed and sniffled. "Give me spice and sandalwood any day." 

The three of them turned a corner and saw Touya and Maeko walking past, holding hands. Maeko didn't remember anything that happened during the past few weeks. In fact, she seemed to return to normal except for one thing; she was still going out with Touya. They loved each other a lot; deeply, completely, and most importantly, genuinely. "Maeko and Touya-san make such an adorable couple," Tomoyo cooed. "Now that I think of it, Sakura, so do you and Syaoran -" 

Sakura and Syaoran hit Tomoyo simultaneously hit Tomoyo over the head. "Shut up!" they both yelled. 

Tomoyo laughed. "Hey, everyone's entitled to my opinion." 

The second crystalline figure reappeared on its pedestal, bathed in the small circle of light penetrating the darkness. There was a frustrated growl somewhere in the darkness. "I cannot believe this - I refuse to believe this! What must I do to retrieve the Star power and reclaim my hold over the universe? What must I do?! Universal domination, that's all I'm asking for, and it continually slips farther and farther away from my grasp." 

"I know what you mean, Master Creator," said a deep, husky voice, emanating from one of the crystal figurines. 

"I'm glad you understand me," the voice said, sounding somewhat kinder, but the kindness didn't last for long. "I'm surrounded by idiots!" the voice screamed as a white glow surrounded the second statue and it exploded into millions of glittering crystal fragments. "Bumbling fools, all of them!" the voice continued. "Can I do nothing to claim what is rightfully mine? I send forth one of the most powerful magical beings in the universe, and the Star sorceress' blasted friends destroyed her. Then I took away those meddlesome friends, and even then without the aid of anyone the Star sorceress managed to defeat one of my strongest minions. I mean, for crying out loud, I'm the ruler of darkness here! Is there nothing I can do?" 

For a moment there was nothing but silence in the dark room, but the silence was interrupted by the sound of small, soft footsteps. A pale, strangely-dressed girl with dark hair and large, frightened eyes stepped into the light. The hem of her long silver robes rustled against the floor as she walked. "Master Creator?" she said faintly, afraid. "If I may be allowed to speak..." 

"What is it?" the voice demanded angrily. 

"I think - I think there may still be something you can do... some way for you to take the Star power... but - but it will require something very precious to you..." 

The two conversed a while in whispers. "Dare I risk it?" the voice asked. "Dare I part with the strongest, most powerful of my creations?" 

"If it is the only way," the girl answered, scared and quiet. 

"You are truly wise. If I am to attain this power, I must attack the source itself." A hand materialized from the darkness, gesturing to the single figure left standing on its platform. "I call upon you, third of the Lost Cards. Bring the Star power to me - at whatever cost." 

The third crystal statuette glowed with a dim, violet light, and vanished in a thick purple fog. When the fog lifted, everything - the strange hand, the pedestals, the crystal figure, and the young girl - had vanished. Everything except for the small pinpoint of light piercing the inky blackness.


End file.
